And I'll Bet You Thought I Wasn't Coming Back

Things got a bit hectic here at Chez Tante. Dare I say, even the knitting slowed down! Of course I've finished a few more things since I last wrote, even started some others. Oh, and the biggest news, I picked up a sock last night! Seriously. I haven't worked on a sock since the my onset of PST - Post Sock-Madness Trauma. But I've decided I must flip these WiPs and so I'm back to work on Ziggity Zag!

So what was I up to? Life mostly. And a wonderful visit with my mom over Thanksgiving. Much good shopping was had. Of the clothes variety, not the yarn. No - I am pretty firmly committed to a serious yarn diet. Only Sundara can break my will. Or an occasional Madelinetosh treat. It's kind of exciting, shopping the stash, and I'm already trying to find the best combination for Daybreak by Stephen West. And there's a few baby things I need to get on with. And of course my niece's sweater, which is coming along slower than expected. And most importantly, I MUST finish off the third piece of the Mimi trilogy, A Scarf for Mimi. Using this pattern as a basis, adding the lace motif from A Hat for Mimi, and quite a bit of tweaking, A Scarf for Mimi should be done tonight or tomorrow. Mimi's mommy is getting quite anxious about the whole thing. And I don't blame her. The cold weather is definitely here.

So until I can catch some sunlight to photograph some of projects, I'll leave with you more of the Summer of Shawls.

Car(a)mel Sensation

Pattern: Melody Shawl by Melody Moore, Morehouse Farms

Needles: KP Options, 5.5 mm

Yarn: Sundara Fingering Silky Merino

Fiber: 50% silk, 50% merino

Colorway: Carmel Apple

Lavalette blocking

Cool Lava

Pattern: Lavalette by Kirsten Kapur

Needles: KP Options 4.5 mm

Yarn: School Products Hand Dyed Cashmere Blend 2

Fiber: 20% Cashmere, 50% Merino, 30% Silk

Colorway: Aqua

Present for my sister's birthday

Cosmic Milkweed

Needles: KP Options 3.5mm

Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn

Fiber: 100% Merino Superwash

Colorway: Aurora Borealis

and finally, after 3 years in the planning...

Seriously
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert at Knitty.com

Needles: KP Options 4.5 mm

Yarn: Handmaiden Fine Yarn, Casbah Sock Yarn

Fiber: 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon

Colorway: Ivory

Mods: used fingering weight instead of worsted. Added repeats until I achieved the desired width, knit until there was only enough yarn left to do the decrease section. I used 3.25 hanks. And I totally LOVE it!

Taste Testing

Happy Wednesday! I finally have some WiPs to show off! Of course the Super Sekret project remains hidden from sight, but I'm happy to report I am working my way through the third repeat. The pattern calls for 4.5 repeats, but I'm thinking of pushing it to 5.5. Cryptic much?

As for Django, I'm merrily making my way through the foot. Should be done by Sunday.


Clapotis comes along more slowly. I have to be in a real brainless mood to work on it.

The long end is already over 50", but I've got lots more yarn left so I'm going to keep on going.

I love its classic beauty and luxurious feel. It makes me think of winter. In a good way, all wrapped up and snuggly in Casbah goodness. I'm thinking it may be an excellent knit on the plane ride home next month.

Of course just because I'm making progress doesn't mean my eyes, and hands, don't wander. And so I've been testing out a couple more shawls.

First, Tuscany, by Amy Singer (or Knitty fame) from her book No Sheep For You. I'm using Sea Silk in the Hemlock colorway. The color is a bit more variegated than I'd hoped for but I think it will be lovey. It's my first time working with slippery, slidy silk and all is going smoothly.


And finally, I've considering Jeanne by Kirsten Kapur. I'm using Yarn Pirate's Bamboo/Merino blend sock yarn in Hyacinth. The shifting lavenders are beautiful and the bamboo content gives a lovely sheen. I'm just not sure that what I think of the pattern yet.


You know I'm aching to cast on for a hat, I'm gathering my yarns for a multi color cardi and I'm still planning for gloves. I just need more time in the day...

Like Riding a Bicycle

Ulmus is off the needles and waiting for a soak and the blocking wires. And yes, folks, this is going to grow. A lot.

Clapotis too is coming along. It's measuring about 50" so far but I plan on continuing until the yarn runs out. The Super Sekret project is coming along as well. Even Hanami is slowly growing. And yet...

We all knew it was a matter of time. Tonight I need something more. Something new. Something small. Something engaging and entirely satisfying. Like a really good cookie. Cookie A. of course! I mean, how long could the abstinence really last? And so at last I've cast on again. A sock. Even more importantly, a Second Sock! Django (Rav linky)is on the needles, the cuff almost finished. So in between all this shawl business I'll be carrying on with my little sock. Because really, I need some closure.

Cozy

Apparently I am still firmly wrapped up in wraps. Shawls and stoles almost all the time. I've thrown in a few little projects here and there to shake things up, but mostly I'm all about big triangles and wide parallelograms.

Clapotis is about halfway there, and I should take some new pictures, but really it just looks like a larger versions of this, with more rows of dropped stitches:


Recycling another old picture, Hanami is now into the 4th repeat. This is something I work on when I'm completely focused and it's going to be at least another 4 repeats before I have anything else but this to show you:


Ulmus, on the other hand has been moving along. I got past the Medium size mark and am making my way up to the large.


And finally, a super sekret project that has been jumping off the needles since I cast on two days ago. A present, so I won't share too much, but if you are a Raveler or a Through the Loops fan you may recognize it:

One day, when I have much patience indeed, I will get back to the endless ribbing of Jeanie. Because once it's done I know I will love it. I just need to get there first!

Report Card

Sometimes it feels like I'm back at school, bringing home reports and having my mom sign off on them. All of this work on shawls and stoles sometimes makes me feel like I'm not getting too far so I guess it's good that Wednesday rolls around once a week, giving me a clearer picture of my progress.

When we last saw Hanami I had ripped it out and started over with 16 extra stitches to give a better width. Like all the projects I have to show this week, the pattern has finally kicked in and I'm doing a lot more reading my knitting than staring at the pattern. This is always a plus. I've also gotten farther along in the pattern than I had before ripping. I'm firmly into the third repeat. Only 5 more to go before the transition chart!

Ulmus has been keeping me company, my constant companion and this week's travel and lunch time knit of choice. Unfortunately I cut it very close with the natural sunlight this evening and the pictures of the entire shawl came out too blurry to show. Rest assured, I am progressing at a decent pace, and am very close to being at size Small. Of course I intend to take this all the way to the full 335 stitches, or perhaps wider. We'll see when I get a bit closer. In the meantime, I am thrilled to report that I, at least, am still totally in love with the colors!


Before Ulmus took back control of the needles, I did get in some work on Clapotis. Before I get too close to the end of this hank, I'll have to decide if it I want to keep it going and order one more.


I am quite pleased with the depth of the Hand Maiden Cashbah Ivory colorway. And the cashmere content makes it so luxuriously squishy I almost wish it were Winter! Almost!


Dare I say I worked through the angst we call Endpaper? Is it true I've loosened up, jumped the hurdle and am really, really on my way? The three repeats for the cuff are done. Now it's on to the increase/gusset section. Keep thinking the good thoughts people and this knit may actually get finished!

Keeping the Faith

There comes a point in every project. Somewhere after the excitement of the cast on, between the wonder of the magic you are creating and the adrenaline rush to the finish, comes that moment. That moment. That "are we there yet?" moment that every knitter must work through.

So here we are. Past the enchantment but not so close to the finish line. My current WiPs in all their in between glory.

Hanami
Looking smaller?

Yes, and bigger too. Wider, anyway. With the encouragement of Madstitcher1, I decided to follow fellow Raveler nutmegmeg's lead and make a wider Hanami. I have the yardage and I wasn't too far along that it killed me to frog.

I'm definitely glad I did it! Now as my mother would say, to "get on with it"!

Clapotis.
I've turned a corner, so to speak.

The increase section is complete. The straight section begun. And look, I'm dropping stitches!



Ulmus.
I have to stop myself from drooling (or crazy smiling) when I work on this. Is it possible for a knitter to be so besotted with her own work!
I am so digging my colorway choice. Korppi and Bleeding Hearts.

Yes, I'd love for this section to be over, but it has been great to work on in the car or at lunch due to it's simple pattern. And I love the effect. Can't wait for the leafy edging! Should I do it in the Bleeding Hearts or the Korppi? I'm leaning towards the Korppi. What do you think?

And finally, Random Love.
Now that I know this is for a boy, all thoughts of throwing in pink have been forgotten.
I think it's coming along swimmingly. I just don't know if I can finish it for Sunday.

With all the yarns I am using, this is not something I can tote around with me. I actually got a bit further on this evening. I've done a whole 9.5". Woo hoo!

Wrap it Up!

Clearly my Tequila Sunrise had an intoxicating effect on me.

Tequila Sunrise (Charlotte's Web) unblocked
Blue Moon Fiber Arts: Socks that Rock Mediumweight in:
Rosebud, Firebird, Sunstone, Scaponia and Bleeding Hearts

Not only am I still planning my next colorway choices (and secretly hoping to find completion with original first choice colors),

Charlotte's Web version 1
Blue Moon Fiber Arts: Socks that Rock Mediumweight in:
Jade, Puck's Mischief and Jasper in need of two more friends

but I have succomed to the whole shawl/wrap/stole thing.

Yes, poor Jeanie lingers on, the thought of all the ribbing is just killing me.

Jeanie in Hand Maiden: Mini Maiden Bronze

But, now we can Clapotis and Hanami and Ulmus to my list of WiPpy Wraps. Each one demands something different, or in the case of Clapotis almost nothing at all. But each one also has its own beauty.

Witness the delicateness of Hanami

Hanami in Colourmart Cashmere 3/28NM Heavy Lace Weight in Rose Pink

and the boldness of Ulmus

Blue Moon Fiber Arts: Socks that Rock Mediumweight in:

Bleeding Hearts and Korppi

And though you'd think wraps would be the last thing on my mind in June, you'd be dead wrong. As I write I hear the rain crashing down. And it's cold outside. I could pretty much snuggle up in any of these right now. Thank goodness Tequila Sunrise is all finished. I could really use a drink.

Retro or Passe?

About three months after I took up knitting, I found myself part of the on-line knitting world. Searching through blogs for advice and inspiration. And of course I found Knitty.com. The knitters' resource par excellence! And it goes without saying that if I found Knitty, I also learned of Kate Gilber's famous Clapotis. If you have been knitting for more than five minutes, you too know of the famous wrap. In 2006, the pattern was already 2 years old. It was my first exposure to Lorna's Laces. My first exposure to hand-painted yarn. And I HAD to make it! And until I left Israel about a year later, and rummaged through my first real LYS's I had a dream of making my own Clapotis. But in something a bit more to my budget. I mean really, would anyone spend that much money on a wrap?

As I became a more discerning yarn shopper and then finally, the yarn snob I am today, the dream of making Clapotis faded. It had become a cliche in the knitting world. I was too cool to make it now. Except somewhere in the back of my head was teeny, tiny hold out. A little voice that really did want that Clapotis, EVEN if everyone esle had one. Except that now, I didn't want a bright, beautiful wrap. I wanted a classy, cushy wrap. One that would look chic in the dead of winter. Excellent yarn was non-negotiable. Hand painted a must. But subtle. It had to be subtle.

And then I decided to buy this:

Hand Maiden Casbah in Ivory

Casbah, with 10% squishable cashmere. And ever so subtle color shifts in neutral ivories.

It makes my heart sing.

And so I too have finally joined the ranks of the Clapoti knitters. 11,434 registered projects in Ravelry, and still going strong. What took me so long?

Hope Springs Eternal

The heat here has been so unbearable that some days I was capable of nary a stitch. Just holding my knitting in my hands made them sweat and my poor little fan could barely keep up. So fleeing from wool and my Capecho frustrations, I did get a lot of work done on my modified Clapoits. OK, I forgot the silk is warm too but it's only a scarf! Anyway I've learned a few things about Clapotis and the yarn I chose.

1. I'm glad I bought the skein of Silk Rhapsody but I am also glad that I only bought 1. The colorway I chose just isn't enough for me and the two plies being separate are a bit of a pain to work with. Still I firmly believe that to get the drape a high percentage of silk is a must. One day when I can afford 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces, or maybe some of Hand Maiden's Lady Godiva (which would only use 3 skeins) I want to do this up right!
   
2. The thinner version (half the width of the original pattern) also doesn't work for me. I made it thinner because I only had that one skein but I also wondered if the 21" would be too wide for me. It won't be. So once again, one day when I can afford...
3. I like the pattern. It's really easy and relaxing, you can let you mind wonder a bit, which is nice sometimes. And the finished scarf is definitely elegant.
   

So for now, I will leave you with my close to being finished modified Clapotis.

As I write this, the cold winds are coming in through the open balcony door. The freak heat has come to an end, or the freak cold has come back. I can't keep track but it's cold and rainy outside and I have no idea what next week will bring, so it was back to Capecho.

I've got some good news and some not so good news. After my frustration with the sleeves, I decided to put the collar in place, see if the whole thing was going to droop and then get back to the sleeves. So...

The good news: following Amy's instructions of a 1:1 then 1:2 ratio I worked the math, knit the correct number of rows and pinned the collar into place and started my seaming. True confession time: this is the first time I used the mattress stitch. Yes, I admit it! And when I think of the seams on the kids' sweaters I cringe from embarrassment. The stitch is so easy to do and the seam is so smooth I promise I will never go back to my old ways!
And now for the not so good news: After the collar was in place I reworked the left sleeve, getting just to the point where sleeve becomes pure ribbing and pinned it together. The right sleeve was still in place even though I knew I had to frog back to where the decreases should end. And I tried it on. And... it is too big. It doesn't droop or do any of the terrible things I had heard it would do, it's just too big. See if I had known it wasn't close fitting I wouldn't have made it bigger than the x-large but, unfortunately, VK didn't post that little correction until I was finished with the body. So there is nothing left to do but rip the whole thing apart and start again! But I start fearless because now I know the secret and it only has that one button at the top so I am hoping that the x-largewill be just right, and if not I have 6 months to lose a little weight! So in the meantime, I'll be frogging away, and making my center pull balls. I also plan on picking up the Heela cotton I will be using for Arietta. I've never worked with cotton nor have I done any color work so I look forward to the experience. But I haven't given up on my Capecho. After seeing Amy's pics I know it can be done well and I love the yarn I chose for it, I just won't be rushing through to get it done but I will keep you posted.

Happy Birthday to Me

I celebrated my birthday last Friday and though it was low key I did enjoy receiving these flowers from A and the A's as well as a great little book from my good friend C (she of the Beach Escape fame,) and a lovely chocolate cake with cherries on top plus a full round of "Happy Birthday" at Shabbos dinner.


C knows I love words; I have been subscribing to AWAD for years now as well as Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day and I just subscribed to the Oxford English Dictionary's daily word. Can I take a moment to rhapsodize over the OED. It was the one thing I actually asked for as a university graduation present and though it has been sitting at my mother's for the last 10 years I think of it often. I have the compact edition which means that 20 volumes have been reproduced micrographically, into a single volume. Nine pages of the original fit onto just one and it comes with its own magnifying glass that you place directly on the printed page. It was indispensable when I worked on Hamlet at the San Diego Rep. (End of OED rhapsody!) My new book is terrific. It takes every day phrases and gives the history of how they came about. Take, for instance, High Jinks, which my good friend S is always clamoring for. When someone is having High Jinks they are lively and excited; having a good time. High Jinks can be traced back to a popular dice game found at the decadent drinking parties in the great houses of Scotland in the late 19th early 20th century. Amongst the book's categories are: Money (or the lack of it), Food for Thought, the World of Books and That's Entertainment. All topics I can relate to! And what did I give myself? I cast on and finished half a sleeve for my Capecho! Don't feel bad if you missed out. You have another chance. You see my birthday was 9 Iyar, and thanks to having my feet in two worlds, I get to celebrate it all over again on May 11!

Before we get to the Capecho saga, yes I am afraid it has become a bit of a saga, I'd like to mention the indefinitely stalled Clapotis project. I have been dying to make Clapotis since I first saw it and after trying out some swatches I knew that to get the drape I would have to use either the Lorna's Laces it calls for (now there's a birthday present!!!) or something similar. When we had our knitting event a few months ago I bought a skein of Silk Rhapsody. It was a splurge, I know, but I HAD TO HAVE IT. So after agonizing over what to make with just one skein I decided to use it to start Clapotis. Below you can see how far I got with a single skein (I made the scarf a bit narrower than called for) and a close up of the dropped stitches. So what's the hold up? I'm not sure I love this colorway enough to invest in buying 1 or 2 more skeins to finish this up. So if anyone has any ideas besides a simple shawl (not me style) of what to do with this, let me know.
Here's another Argosy. For those of you keeping score, this is #5. I modified this one, making it 9 blocks wide, as opposed to the original 5. Once again I used the Lanas Stop: Yes Please in color way 207. This is the colorway I used for my sister's. This is a surprise gift for someone but since the sun is coming out in full force I won't be passing it on quite yet. That should keep the mystery going. In the meantime, I have decided that while the original is a bit narrow, the 9 repeats is a bit wide for me. So that takes us to Arogsy #6 for me and back to colorway 208. It will have a s 7 block repeat and I will give my mom the thinner one.

I can't say enough about this Lanas Stop: Yes Please yarn. The self striping colors are great and it really lends it self to lace work. So far I have used 4 colorways to make Argosy, Midwest Moonlight and Lacy Ocean. I have one more colorway at home. This time a rich burgundy blend. Any pattern recommendations?

And now to Capecho. Here is a the completed back, just waiting for sleeves and collar. And indeed have begun the sleeves. In fact I have finished the left one, twice. Huh? Well despite that fact that I made the pentagons larger to make the overall size bigger, my arms aren't that big so I went for the printed XL instructions, added a couple more inches for length, bound off and sewed it up. The sleeve was huge! So I ripped back to where the sleeve decreases started and continued the pattern 4 more rows following the L directions and of course, disaster. The whole thing pulls up too far so the underarm doesn't work. After completing it twice I have come to the conclusion that I should follow the XL instructions but will try changing needle size when I get to the plain ribbing. And all this will be done on the right sleeve because I am not about to rip out and restart the left sleeve AGAIN (at least not until I see this thing with both sleeves in. Then of course I will rip away...) This way I will be able to compare and see where I am going wrong. I have to admit I have been worried about the over all size for a while now. It just seems so, SO big. With one sleeve in I see that it is taking shape, another reason to leave it in temporarily and put in the second. Across the back it seems fine but the neck line seems to go on forever. I will just have to take it on faith that when the collar goes in all will be fine. And if not, take apart the whole thing and start over! (Oh, I hope not!) There is no other way to fix it. The size of the pentagon is based on the CO stitches, you can't make it smaller without starting over. I have started casting on the right sleeve so we'll see where that takes us. In the meantime, I will leave you with this shot of the left sleeve just to give you an idea of what the jacket will look like. I think I will extend the sleeve yet another inch or so.

And on a final posting note, I am tré s excited about the new Arietta cardigan that just went up on Knitty. I will wait until I get to the US this summer before putting in my order to KnitPicks!